Tag: bilingual

Languages Develop Simultaneously  But Independently in Young Bilinguals A new study of Spanish-English bilingual children by researchers at Florida Atlantic University published in the journal Developmental Science finds that when children learn two languages from birth each language proceeds on its own independent course, at a rate that reflects the quality of the children’s exposure to each language.  Spanish is Vulnerable to Being...

A new study, titled “Late Bilinguals Are Sensitive to Unique Aspects of Second Language Processing: Evidence from Clitic Pronouns Word Order,” asks whether English speakers who become highly proficient at a late age in Spanish can understand grammatical constructions that are present in Spanish but not in English. The study hinges on the longstanding question of whether or...

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) delivered its final report on the future of language education to the U.S. Congress yesterday, recommending “a national strategy to improve access to as many languages as possible for people of every region, ethnicity, and socioeconomic background.” “America’s Languages: Investing in Language Education for the 21st Century,” which was produced in response...

The National Science Foundation's Partnerships in International Research and Education (NSF PIRE) has awarded a $5 million dollar grant over five years to help translate the scientific benefits of language learning from the lab to the classroom. Research has shown that speaking two or more languages makes minds more open to learning and more flexible, so now's the time...

Schools are struggling to provide quality education to an increasing number of students who don't speak English. In the last 25 years, the amount of English language learners (ELLs) in the U.S. has risen from 5% of all public school K-12 students to more than 10%. The majority of these ELLs speak Spanish, leading to a country-wide increase in...

Comparative study of U.S. and Europe shows correlation between language requirements and multilingualism A Pew Research Center study on foreign language education in the U.S. compared to Europe points out that while the U.S. has no foreign language requirement mandated by the federal government, most European countries require that young pupils begin learning a second, and in many cases a...

Language Magazine is sponsoring Los Angeles’ first Bilingual Education Fair to be held on May 3rd at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) campus. Organized by French Morning, with the support of the French  Embassy, the event provides the opportunity for up to a thousand parents of potential students to learn more about dual-language education. Editor Daniel Ward will be on...

MANY LANGUAGES, ONE WORLD 2015 Student Essay Contest and Global Youth Forum Seventy students will be selected as delegates to the 2015 United Nations Academic Impact Global Youth Forum where they will create plans of action related to the United Nations Post-2015 Global Development Agenda. The students will present these plans of action at United Nations Headquarters in New York...

Canada's Foreign Minister under fire for favoring English on social media. Canada’s chien de garde des langues officielles, or language watchdog, Graham Fraser, is investigating the Twitter account of Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird. The investigation seeks to determine if Baird’s tweets preserve the “spirit” of the Official Languages Act of 1969 that makes both French and English official languages....